Indigenous peoples are often presented as natural allies in countering pressing environmental problems. The norm that depicts Indigenous peoples as environmental stewards has allowed international actors with different priorities to become involved in environmental projects that aim at ensuring both conservation and indigenous territorial rights. Previous research has emphasized that whereas this norm has opened up for indigenous participation in environmental governance, it is based on a limited understanding of indigenous needs and rights. This article analyses how the conflicting goals and trade-offs are contested in the localization of this norm in conservation projects in the Peruvian Amazon. Empirically, our findings are based on ethnographic field research, 80 semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. Our analysis reveals how in the localization of the norm, Indigenous peoples’ territorial rights has become marginalized, contributing to reinforce conflicts and inequality, which ultimately undermine both environmental and social sustainability. By analyzing the localization of the environmental steward norm, we contribute to a better understanding of the processes at play in displacing the costs of global sustainability transformations to indigenous actors.

在应对紧迫的环境问题方面，土著人民经常被视为天然的盟友。将土著人民描述为环境管理者的规范允许具有不同优先事项的国际参与者参与旨在确保保护和土著领土权利的环境项目。先前的研究强调，虽然这一规范为土著参与环境治理开辟了道路，但它基于对土著需求和权利的有限理解。本文分析了在秘鲁亚马逊保护项目中这一规范的本地化过程中如何对相互冲突的目标和权衡进行争论。从经验上讲，我们的发现基于人种学实地研究、80 次半结构化访谈和文件分析。我们的分析揭示了在规范的本地化过程中，土著人民的领土权利如何被边缘化，加剧了冲突和不平等，最终破坏了环境和社会的可持续性。通过分析环境管家规范的本地化，我们有助于更好地了解将全球可持续性转型成本转移给本土参与者的过程。